


Fortunes of Love

by hope170



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Definitely Canon Divergent, Eda gets a girlfriend, F/F, I wasn't able to find a lot of Edaxoc or Edaxreader stuff, Not Beta Read, aint nobody got time for that - Freeform, so I guess I'm writing my own, takes place before Agony of a Witch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:40:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26262058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hope170/pseuds/hope170
Summary: When King needs his most loyal soldier fixed, Eda decides to take them to an old acquaintance of hers to get it patched. What starts as a visit turns into another visit, then another, then another. Eda begins to wonder why they were never friends before.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne/ OC
Comments: 23
Kudos: 115





	1. The Fortune-Teller

It was a surprisingly quiet afternoon. Luz was still at school, Hooty was taking a nap, and King was off somewhere playing. And Eda had every intention of taking advantage of the break in the chaos. She slumped onto the couch with a sigh, a steaming mug of tea in her hands. She took a sip of her drink, closing her eyes and relaxing, a lazy smile on her face. This was the stuff. 

Eda’s peace was shattered when a screech rang out through the house. She sighed, putting her mug down on the coffee table. Looks like her tea would go cold. She crossed her arms, scowling at King as he dashed into the room, but her face softened when she saw him. He looked like he was on the verge of tears, his little stuffed rabbit clutched tightly in his arms.

“Eda!” he screeched, running into her legs and toppling over. He was quick to get back to his feet.

“I’m right here, King, you don’t need to screech.”

“Eda, Eda, The worst thing ever has happened!” He continued to screech, not bothering to lower his voice a bit. “Francoise’s been injured!”

He shoved the rabbit in her face, showing the arm hanging on by a thread, the stuffing spilling out. 

“He needs immediate attention or I fear he’ll lose his life!” The little demon insisted, looking quite devastated at the turn of events. Eda sighed, a soft smile on her face.

“Alright, alright, let me see.”

She gently took the rabbit from him and took a closer look. The thread attaching the arm to the body was in pieces, bits poking out of the worn fabric. It had probably just gotten too old, played with too much, something like that. She wasn’t the best at sewing, but it looked easy enough to fix.

“Guess I can fix it. Just let me get some things.”

She handed the rabbit back to King and gave him a little pat on his head. She had a bunch of junk in the closet to look through. 

It was tougher than she thought it would be just to find a needle and thread. Luz had returned from school before she had even found anything.

“Eda? What are you doing?”

The witch huffed from her pile of stuff, the shelves of the closet empty. She grumbled, wading through her pile and standing by Luz. 

“Looking for a needle and thread. King broke his doll.” She said dismissively, idly drawing a circle in the air. All the junk on the floor jumped to attention and flew back to their spots. “Clearly, I didn’t find anything.”

“Awww, that’s why King looks so depressed.”

They looked back to the couch where King sat, still clutching his broken rabbit with big crocodile tears in his eyes. He sniffed.

“Yeah. We need to fix that thing.”

Eda went quiet as she thought, pacing the living room. Okay, maybe she couldn’t fix the damn thing herself. That meant she would have to find someone else to do it. She went through all the people she knew in her mind. Half of them hated her, so it was easy to cut the list down. None of the first people she thought of actually knew anything about sewing or stuffed animals. She had to dig deep before she remembered someone who might be able to help. It was a long shot, but they had to try.

“Alright you two, I have an idea.”

She turned to them with her signature cocky smile. 

“We’re going to the market.”

\--------------------------

The Market was busy this time of day, the witchlings who just got out of school running around through the crowd. Eda hated being at the market when it was like this, but desperate times they say. The market was large and there were many stalls, but only one of them was the one they needed. She wished she remembered where it was better. She had never actually been there before, she just passed it every once in a while. After several wrong turns and irritated mumbles, she finally spotted the familiar stall.

“Ah, here we are! Told ya I’d find it.”

She crossed her arms, a prideful smile on her face, but Luz and King looked doubtful.

“It looks like a … fortune-teller?” Luz said, cocking her head to one side. 

And so it did. The dark blue stall was decorated with white glittering stars and a crystal ball sat on the counter alongside various other tools. A group of teenagers were clustered around it, giggling and squealing at each other. 

“How is some palm reading supposed to help Francoise?” King shouted, looking irritated.

“Just come on, ya little demon. Trust me.”

King continued to grumble his doubts as the approached the stall. The group of teenagers dispersed as they approached, talking amongst each other and staring at their hands in wonder. As they left they could see the witch waving goodbye. She looked friendly enough, her black curls tied back and what looked like a snake hanging on her shoulders. She smiled at them as they approached, though she looked a bit hesitant when she saw Eda.

“Hello! How can I help you?” Her voice was small and quiet.

“There you are! What was it again? Nila or something?” Eda’s voice boomed in contrast to the other witch. She leaned against the counter, a hand on her hip.

“Niliana.”

Eda gave a dismissive wave.

“Whatever, close enough. Listen, Nily, we have a bit of a problem here and need your help.”

She nodded to King. He still looked doubtful, but jumped on the counter and showed the witch his rabbit. She focused on it instantly, brows furrowed as she inspected the damage, humming thoughtfully. 

“You want me to fix it?”

Eda nodded. 

“It’s desperate! We must heal Francoie immediately!” King shouted, waving his arms around. “I don’t want to lose my best buddy!”

The woman smiled at him, giving his head a few pats.

“He’ll be fine. I can fix him. Come on then, my supplies are in the back.”

She left her stall, leading them into a tent behind it. Luz gazed around it in wonder. It was dark, little balls of light floating around the ceiling giving all the light they needed to see. There shelves upon shelves of stuff surrounding them, crystal balls, crystals, various jars of herbs, and other mysterious substances. Even more dried herbs were hanging from the ceiling alongside various fabrics. In the middle of the room were several comfy looking chairs and a love seat surrounding a round coffee table with a few unlit candles.

“Take a seat, I’ll get working on this.” Niliana told them in her soft voice, motioning to the chairs. Luz hopped into a chair, giggling as she bounced slightly. Eda sat with a sigh, sprawling out over the love seat, but King couldn’t sit. He followed the witch, right on her heals as she walked to what looked like a work table. The shelf above it was lined with various stuffed animals in various rates of decay and mismanagement. King crawled onto the table, watching anxiously as she got to work. The snake on her shoulders slithered away due to some unspoken command, curling around a nearby staff and turning to wood.

“This is a nice place ya got here!” Luz said, still staring around in wonder. “I haven’t meant anyone who was really good at oracle magic before! Can you tell the future? How? What’s your favorite way to do it? What’s all the herbs and crystals for? How…?”

“Slow down, kid!” Eda said, laughing. “Not everyone can talk as fast as you.”

“Oh, right sorry.” Luz said, looking a bit sheepish and shrugging.

“No, dear, I can’t tell the future. Not exactly. Oracle magic is actually quite complicated. It’s more like I see pieces what could happen. I do it by connecting to others magic. I like reading tea leaves the most. The herbs are for the tea. The crystals can be used to focus someones magic so I can read it and use it to tell the future.” 

She answered easily, not missing a beat as she worked. The rabbit was empty of all stuffing now, the broken thread removed and the arm sitting next to it. She got herself a bucket and filled it with water, adding an herb here and an herb there. Once the concoction was completed she put the pieces of the rabbit in to soak.

King stared into the bucket, then looked up at her, confused. 

“What are you doing?” He asked, the nervousness creeping into his voice. She smiled at him again.

“He’s just taking a bath is all. It’ll make his fur soft and stronger.”

King nodded, keeping a close eye on the bucket. 

“What do you mean you see pieces? What does that mean? And what does tea have to do with telling the future?”

Niliana sighed.

“Why don’t I just … show you? Would that appease you?” 

Luz’s eyes went wide and she nodded, almost bouncing with excitement. So, she started putting together a pot of tea, heating the water with a magical floating fire. With nothing left to do but wait, she finally sat with a sigh, grabbing a deck of cards to fiddle with.

Luz never stopped talking, but once the witch had settled the girl went oddly silent. Niliana looked over to her to find the girl watching her with intent, curious eyes.

“Sooooo…” She started, a smirk on her face. “How do you and Eda know each otherrrrrrr.”

“We went to school together,” Eda spoke up before Niliana could, but she didn’t seem to mind. She just nodded. 

“We were both in the potions track, at least for a short time.”

“Ugh, those classes were so booooring.” Eda groaned, slouching even further in the love seat at the very memory of them. “It was nothing but stirring and stirring. I don’t know how you managed it.”

“Clearly, I didn’t.” She said, twirling a card between her fingers. “I transferred to the oracle track shortly after you left.”

Eda snorted.

“I’m amazed anyone's making potions these days with a class like that.”

Niliana shrugged.

“I didn’t think it was all that bad. The monotony was calming, especially when I was having a bad day.”

Eda waved her hand aimlessly, clearly unimpressed. 

“Awww, you guys were friends?” Luz asked, but Eda shook her head, confusing the girl.

“Not really. We were more like … Aquaintances. We knew of each other, but we didn’t hang out or anything.”

“We only really talked when we were paired up for a project.” Niliana added.

“Yeah, I remember that! I always got a passing grade with you watching my back!”

“You made me do all the work.”

“Not like I was learning anything anyway. I still did some of the stirring, didn’t I?”

“Mmmm, I suppose. Not much. You were too busy getting into trouble releasing spirits in the locker room or something.”

Eda snickered, remembering all her troublesome pranks. 

“They never could get rid of those spirits. They made me do it!”

Niliana looked doubtful.

“And how exactly did they manage that?”

Eda just smiled, sitting up so she could ruffle Luz’s hair.

“I had to get Luz here into that school somehow.”

They spent a while retelling some of there adventures from school. Well, Eda retold some of her adventures. NIlly occasionally would add something here or that, mentioning something she herself remembered. Otherwise, she busied herself with other things. The tea needed to be finished and handed out and the rabbit needed dried off after soak and restuffed. The tent was filled with laughter. Even King was laughing at some points, though he kept his attention mostly on his rabbit. 

“I finished my tea!” Luz piped up. “Do you read the leaves now?”

“In a bit, hun, let me just finish this real quick.”

King bounced anxiously, watching her carefully as pulled the needle through the fabric. Finally, the string was tied off and snipped. 

“He’s done! Ya fixed him!” King shouted, eagerly grabbing for the rabbit, but the woman pulled it away. 

“One last thing.” She said, opening one of her drawers to pull out a black ribbon. She tied it around the rabbit’s neck, forming a cute little bowtie. Only when that was done did she hand it to the little demon. He snatched it from her hands, giving it a big hug. 

“Francoise! You’re all fixed!” He cheered. “Thank you, lady!”

He jumped off the counter, dashing over to Eda to show her his newly fixed rabbit. She whistled.

“Dang, it almost looks brand new! I knew you did this sort of stuff but I didn’t know you were good at it.”

Niliana shook her head.

“How did you even know? I don’t remember telling you about it.”

Eda shrugged, moving to the side so King could sit next to her, Francoise in his lap.

“I don’t know, you mentioned something about fixing stuffed animals during one of our projects.”

“And you remembered?”

“Yeah, I know. I even shock myself sometimes.” She smirked smugly, crossing her legs and putting her hands behind her head. 

Niliana rolled her eyes, sitting down and putting a hand out to Luz. The girl eeped gleefully, rushing to give her the tea cup. 

“Now, what do you want me to focus on?”

“Uh, what?” Luz asked.

“I need something to focus on. So, what do you want to know?”

Luz thought for a moment, then beamed.

“Oh, oh, I know! Will I ever fall in love?”

Eda rolled her eyes, mumbling something about teenagers and love. Niliana smirked at that before gazing into the cup. A moment later her eyes started glowing teal. Luz watched, fascinated. Several moments passed in silence before Luz got too impatient.

“Well? What do you see?”

Niliana closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. They were no longer glowing, returned to their usual golden brown. She thought for a moment, Luz staring at her intently, slowly inching closer to the witch.

“You will fall in love. In fact, you’ll fall in love with someone you already know and who you’re already close with.” She finally said, placing the cup down on the coffee table.

“Whoa, really? How do you know?”

“When I read your tea leaves, I focus intently on you and whatever you want to know, in this case, love. When I go into my trance, I don’t really see things, I feel things. They're more like impressions. I felt love, that’s how I know you will fall in love with someone. But I also felt a sense of familiarity, which is how I know it’s someone close to you. I’d advise you to figure out if any of your friends like you.”

“Whoa…” Luz whispered, looking amazed. Eda chuckled. It was amazing that her face didn’t freeze like that. 

“Alright, hotshot. If you’re so good at this then read my stupid leaves.” She said, leaning forward, her teacup hanging off a finger. Niliana snatched it before it could fall and shatter. She shot the other witch a hard look.

“What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know, just tell me something about my love life or whatever.”

The witch stared into the teacup for a moment before her eyes lit up once more. 

“This is all nonsense anyway,” Eda added, sitting back and crossing her arms. Luz looked taken aback.

“What? Why?”

“Simple. There’s no such thing as a set future. It hasn’t happened yet! Sure, you can be told what might happen and give all sorts of random advice or whatever, but it’s you’re own actions that determine what really happens. That’s not something she can control.”

Luz looked a little downtrodden by her mentors' words, but brightened almost instantly. 

“So she can’t tell exactly what’ll happen, but she can point me in the right direction! It’s like well-informed advice.”

Eda waved a hand dismissively.

“Whatever you say, kid. Personally, I don’t let this stuff get to me.”

Niliana blinked, her eyes returning to normal once more.

“... alright, there’s a lot more to go through here.” She commented, looking rather thoughtful.

Eda frowned, just a bit irritated.

“What’s that supposed to mean.”

The woman didn’t seem affected by Eda’s steely tone, continuing with her even, soft voice.

“You have a pretty crazy love life already, it can be hard to sift through. You feel a lot of love for the people around you, so it's hard to say if there’s anything new there … There will be others that’ll come into your life and join your little family, that’s for sure. For a wanted criminal, you really draw them in.”

Eda huffed, her irritation fading as a soft smile spread on her face.

“I suppose so... “

She tried not to react to the look Luz was giving her.

It was a few more seconds before Niliana spoke up again.

“For someone who’s dated a lot, you haven’t felt a who lot of romantic love before. But there will be someone someday. Probably someone from your past. You may be nervous about it, it’ll be odd and new, but It’ll be worth it. My advice would be to not go searching for anything, but don’t shove anyone away who might want to get close to you. You may never find love if you stay closed off. But make sure they’re making an effort, too.”

She gave a little nod, satisfied with her reading, and put the teacup next to the other.

“My turn! I want a reading too!” King piped up. Niliana nodded and made him a cup. He snatched it out of her hands with a “nyeh’ and gulped it down. He shoved the now empty cup into her face. “Do your magic, Lady!”

Niliana chuckled, taking the cup from him and reading it.

“You, dear, are going to live a very happy life surrounded by the ones you love. You’ll be very pampered like you are now.”

“Yes! Only the best for the King of Demons!” King said, puffing his chest out. Eda pat his head, nearly knocking him over.

“Whatever you say, tiny.”

They left shortly after that, all waving as the left. Niliana waved back from her tent.

“I liked her. We should visit again sometime!” Luz said, looking up at Eda expectantly. King did the same from Luz’s arms, tail wagging. Eda sighed, a smirk crawling onto her face.

“Fine, if you want.”

The two cheered, running ahead a bit. Eda smiled at them.


	2. A Day at the Market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eda and Niliana strike up a business deal. In the meantime, Luz tries to figure out what she's going to do about this love of hers.

“And then she said that I’d fall in love with someone close to me!” Luz said, eyes shining. Willow and Gus were listening intently, looking just as amazed.

“Whoa…” Gus said, voice quiet. “Amazing.”

“That’s great, Luz!” Willow said. “Do you know who it is?”

Luz thought for a moment, eyes squinting as she debated with herself. She shook her head. 

“Not really. She said it might be one of my friends.” Luz narrowed her eyes at her two friends. “Do either of you like me?” She asked suspiciously. Her two friends looked at each other and shrugged.

“No, not really.”

“Not in that way.”

“Then who is it?”

The group went silent as they all thought it over. Suddenly, Gus began to giggle.

“Hey guys, what if-if it was Amity?”

Willow giggled a little at the suggestion, but Luz could only think about it. She thought about Amity, about how she read books to kids, how smart she was, the fun they had dancing together at grom, the grudgby match, her smile, that cute little giggle she had. The more she thought about it the redder her face got and the more the other two giggled.

“Ooooh, Luz has a cruuuush.” Gus said. Luz blushed harder, shoving his shoulder but all that accomplished was making them laugh harder. Luz laughed with them. She couldn’t help it, just was just a giggly person.

“Luz, you have to tell Amity!” Willow said. Gus nodded in agreement.

“I know, I know, but what do I even say?!” 

Gus shrugged.

“Tell her about the fortune teller or something?” 

Willow and Luz shook their heads.

“Whatever you do, can ya do it somewhere else? Your teenage gossip is scaring off the customers.” Eda gave them a hard look from her spot behind the stand’s counter.

The teen’s gave an apologetic look.

“Sorry, Eda! We’ll head off!” Luz said, ushering her friends away. “We can walk and talk, right guys?” 

They, of course, agreed, but before they got too far Eda stopped them with a hand on Luz’s shoulder.

“You got this, kiddo.” She gave the girl a wink, earning her a smile.

“Thanks, Eda.”

Eda nodded, letting her go. She waved to them as they left, Luz waving back before continuing her talk with her friends. Eda shook her head and muttered “teenagers” under her breath. They’d figure it out eventually. She turned back to her shelves of human junk with a sigh.

“Alright, back to work.”

She decided it would help to rearrange the items a bit, put something different out front to catch the costumer's attention. It helped a little but overall it remained a slow day. Sure, it happened, but it was still aggravating. She was debating sending Owlbert out for more when she saw someone approaching from the corner of her eye. She instinctually put on her customer service face before dropping it for a smirk when she saw who it was.

“Nily! What a pleasant surprise.”

The other woman gave a little wave as she approached. She was wearing her hair down today, the dark curls reaching just below her shoulders. She wore casual clothes, probably off of work for the day or something of the sort, her staff in hand. 

“What brings you out of the gloom and all the way to my stand?”

Niliana didn’t answer at first, her eyes gazing at the assorted human items. To anyone else, it would have just looked like she was perusing the available wears, but Eda liked to think she was better at reading people than most others. To her, she looked uncertain, like she was thinking something over that she probably should have figured out before coming over.

“I had a proposition for you.”

Eda raised an eyebrow at that. 

“I’m listening.”

“Well, I had the idea that we could possibly work together. You know about my hobby making and fixing stuffed animals. What if I gave you some of them to sell at your stand?”

Eda laughed, shaking her head. Niliana crossed her arms, just waiting for her to stop, an irritated frown on her face. 

“Oh, Nily, I sell human stuff at my stand! Your stuffed animals wouldn’t fit here.”’

“Which is why I would make them out of supplies from the human realm,” Niliana said, not missing a beat. Perhaps she thought this out more than Eda initially thought. “Just grab some discarded clothes or blankets, I make them into my animals, and you can market them as a piece of the human realm for children. You’ll be widening your market. If you want, I can buy the fabrics off of you so if they don’t sell you don’t lose anything.”

Yeah, she really did think through this.

“And what would you get out of it?” Eda asked. 

Niliana didn’t have an immediate answer. She thought for a moment before responding.

“Other than a small portion of prophets,” Eda nodded. She expected as much. “I really don’t want anything.”

Eda looked doubtful. The other witch sighed.

“Honestly, Eda? I’m bored.” Niliana admitted, surprising Eda a bit. “I do the same thing day in and day out. I live in my tent, go to work, maybe work on a toy and that’s it. I just want something more. I want some excitement!” And for a moment, she brightened. Eda hadn’t even noticed how down she looked before, but now her eyes were alight with emotion, she stood up a little straighter and even her voice was a little louder. “What better way to step up things then working with Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles?”

Eda didn’t even need to think it over.

“Alright, you got yourself a deal!” She declared, and they shook hands. Niliana had the biggest smile on her face. Eda had to admit, that sort of guine smile suited her. “I was gonna send Olwbert anyways, I can get him to pick up some things for you to get started.”

At her words the wooden owl sprang to life with a little hoot, flying over to Eda’s outstretched hand. She smiled at him softly, giving him scritches and petting his adorable little cheek. 

“Thanks, Eda.”

She looked back to Niliana, that soft smile never really leaving her face.

“Of course. I mean, who am I to deny someone a little excitement. Besides, it’s not like I’m gonna lose anything out of this. Worst comes to worst, I still manage to sell some of my wares. It’s a win-win!”

She turned away, entering her tent with a “Just one minute!” shouted over her shoulder. Now hidden away, she took the key out from its hiding place, pressing the eyes to open the door. With a few hushed words, she sent Owlbert away, ready to collect all sorts of new human memorabilia. 

\-----------------------------------

It didn’t take much for Luz to realize that yeah, she really did like Amity. She had wanted to be friends for so long she hadn’t even realized those feelings had changed. Of course, then there was the issue of whether or not Amity would like her back.

“She does,” Willow said, not a hint of doubt in her voice. They were walking through the market, cones of ice cream in their hands. 

“How do you know?” Luz sounded uncertain and Gus gave a doubtful look, but Willow wasn’t deterred. 

“Trust me, I can tell. Didn’t you see how red her face got when you picked her up after the game?”

“I didn’t notice…”

“You’re right!” Gus agreed, face brightening and a hand landing on his cheek. “Her face got so red!”

“Plus she said she loved how stupid you were sometimes right before.”

“And she called you sweet!”

“Honestly, I can’t believe we didn’t see it before.”

Luz could feel the heat in her cheeks, a smile on her face. This was perfect! But then her smile fell.

“That’s all good, but… how am I supposed to ask her out? I’ve never even dated before…”

“Can’t you just ask her? You like her, she clearly likes you, what more do you need?” Gus asked, head tilted to the side in confusion. Willow just shook her head.

“I’m sure that works for some people, but you can also make it this big thing! Maybe with flowers... “ Willow trailed off, already contemplating what arrangement would be best. 

The three of them devolved into a fit of giggles. Luz felt lightheaded at the very thought of asking Amity out.

\-------------------------------------

She didn’t really know how long it had been before they were headed back to Eda’s stand. An hour? Maybe two? Whatever the case, when the three teens returned Luz was surprised to find a familiar face at the stand, talking happily with Eda.

“Nily!” She cheered happily, running over to the witch. 

“Oh, hello. Luz, right?”

She nodded.

“Yep! And these are my friends, Willow and Gus.” She waved to them as they caught up, giving their own shy little waves. She smiled at them, one of those warm parental smiles that some people had, the one that made you know they were a good person. They smiled back, not nearly as shy anymore.

“It’s nice to meet you two.”

“It’s nice to meet you two, Miss Niliana,” Gus said, stepping forward and offering his hand for a handshake. She took it and gave it a little shake. “Luz told us about you!”

“Did she? Well, I hope she said good things.”

“Yeah! She said you told her the future!” Willow said, beaming.

“And it’s been so helpful!” Luz pushed her way through the two to stand in front again. “You said I would fall in love with someone close to me! And I … think I figured out who.” Luz tried to turn her face away to hide the blush creeping onto her face. Niliana chuckled.

“You work fast don’t you?”

“But now I don’t know how to ask her out.” Luz sighed, looking a bit crestfallen. She looked back up when she felt a hand on her shoulder, the woman smiling down at her.

“Don’t worry too much.” Niliana said. “Love can be complicated, especially when you're young. Just don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.”

Luz smiled at her, a hopeful smile. Maybe things would work out, she thought. She just needed to keep it simple!

Eda watched the interaction from her spot behind the counter, a soft smile on her face. She felt an odd sensation in her chest, one she was not entirely familiar with. It was all warm and fuzzy and other cheesy stuff like that. She didn’t like it, not one bit. The last time she felt anything even remotely similar to this it was with an old boyfriend of hers, one that ended up cheating on her for some cyclops floozy. It was not a pleasant memory.

“Anyways, you can pick up the supplies tomorrow.” Eda spoke up, interrupting their moment. Niliana turned her eyes to her, a little smile still on her face.

“Thanks, Eda! I’ll be sure to stop by to pick them up. I should have a few done in a week.”

“Sounds promising!”

The two shook hands and Niliana gave her goodbyes. The three teens shouted their own goodbyes back, waving madly. Eda waved too, albeit not with nearly as much energy. Her mind was far too occupied.


	3. A Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King has a bad day and now has to try and face a problem he is not at all prepared to deal with.

Eda grumbled at the morning, all but collapsed on the kitchen counter. Luz was just getting ready for school so she could call her friends. Eda didn’t fully understand why she needed to call them before school. She was going to see them soon enough anyway, but whatever. It made the kid happy.

She gave a big yawn, at least attempting to stand up a bit straighter as Luz stumbled into the room.

“Good morning, Eda!”

She grumbled some sort of greeting but Luz hardly even noticed. She was far too busy eating the breakfast that was at out for her. Eda shook her head, a fond smile on her face. She could put anything out and Luz would eat it. The girl just paid so little attention, she was so eager to meet with her friends. While she ate, Eda got herself some apple blood.

“Eda, can I walk to school with Gus and Willow today?”

She hummed thoughtfully, looking over to the clock, then shrugged.

“I don’t see why not, kiddo.”

But before she had even finished the sentence, Luz was already grabbing her bag to leave. She paused at the door a moment, before running back over to the kitchen and giving her mentor a big hug. It took a moment for Eda to process, but when she did she hugged the girl back. Soon enough, she was rushing for the door again. 

“Thanks for breakfast, Eda! Have a good day!” The door slammed shut before Eda could give her own goodbye.

She was putting her mug in the sink when she heard little footsteps running upstairs, then an odd series of thuds that sounded suspiciously like someone falling down the stairs, punctuated by a little squeak. She snorted out a laugh and smirking when King came stumbling into the kitchen, looking around frantically. After a moment of searching, he looked disappointed, body sagging.

“Did Luz leave already?”

“Yeah, she had to leave early.”

“Oh… I wanted to say goodbye before she left.”

He bowed his head, sadly walking to the kitchen table, only struggling a little to get up onto a chair.

“Don’t worry, you have the whole weekend to spend time with her.” Eda tried to encourage him, giving him his own plate of eggs for breakfast. It seemed to help a little bit. At the very least he wasn’t slouching while he ate. Good enough.

Eda gave another yawn.

“Well, I’m gonna go take a nap.”

King looked up at her as she left the room, a look of concern on his face.

“Already?” He asked, hopping off the chair to dash to her side. He clutched at the skirt of her dress, stopping her retreat. “But it’s still early! Are you feeling okay? Is it the curse? Did you take your elixir today?”

Eda huffed, pushing the small demon off herself, forceful but not hard enough to hurt him.

“I’m fine. I took my elixir already and I’m gonna head to the market later to get more. I just..” She gave another yawn. “I just need to nap first.” 

She walked on despite King’s protests, collapsing onto the couch and promptly falling asleep. King gave an indignant noise, crossing his arms.

“Fine then! I have my own things to do anyway.” He stomped off only to return a moment later with a blanket. He draped it over Eda, making sure it covered her up. “Okay, now I’m going!” He ran off again.

\----------------------------

Morning turned into afternoon without much fuss. Everything was quiet and peaceful, the only sound being King as he assembled his army of stuffed soldiers upstairs and acted the wars to come when he regained his power the occasional annoying sound from Hooty. King found it suspicious. Eda should have made some sort of sound by now, maybe yell about going to the market or bumping around in the kitchen. He should probably go check on her. 

He tried to be quiet as he walked downstairs, peering into the living room.

“Oh."

In the middle of the living room was what at first looked like a giant pile of gray feathers. But of course, King quickly realized it wasn’t since it was breathing, it’s massive side rising and falling slowly. That was Eda! She had turned into her owl form after all. Well, at the very least she was still sleeping. 

King inched forward ever so slowly, now more than ever needed to keep as quiet as physically possible. He hid behind the couch, trying to get control of his breathing. When he had calmed down at least a little peered out at the giant beast in the middle of the living room. She still slept soundly, so he tried scooting a little closer. Then a little closer. Then even a little more. He managed to get all the way to her face without waking her up.

“Eda?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper. He had to actively restrain himself from bapping her face. As much as it would make him feel better, it would also probably get him killed. The only response to his whisper was a loud snore. 

Alright, this was no problem! He just had to get some of her elixirs! Then she would turn back to normal!

He tiptoed out of the room, ever so careful, but once he was in the hallway he ran up the stairs to Eda’s room.

“Alright,” he said to himself, looking around the slightly messy room. “If I was an elixir, where would I be?”

He remembered Eda opening a chest before, so he looked through a couple of chests she had around the room. He gave an irritated huff at every chest that held nothing but books and junk. Then there was only one left. He opened it with a triumphant “Ah-ha!”

It held nothing but empty bottles. 

“Oh. That’s not good.”

Looked like Eda was out of her elixir. He remembers she did mention having to go to the market for more earlier. Well, he guessed he would just have to get it for her. It wasn’t like she was in any state to get it herself. 

He snuck back downstairs, peering back over the couch at where Eda still slept. She hadn’t moved an inch, snoring away. Maybe he could get to the market and back before she woke up. He definitely needed to get back before Luz returned from school. So, he snuck out the front door, trying to open it without a squeak and close it without a slam.

“Watcha doin’, hoot hoot!”

Hooty’s screech nearly made King jump out of his skin. He turned on the door with a glare and a loud “Sshhhhhh!”

“Eda’s sleeping, don’t wake her up! She turned into her owl form again. I’m heading to the market to get her more of that elixir. Can you keep her in the house?”

“You got it, hoot hoot!”

And as annoying as the owl was, at least he lowered his voice. That would have to do. 

King ran all the way to the market. Well, he mostly ran. He had very short legs, after all, so he needed a few breaks. Still, he managed to make good time all things considered. He was at the market within the half-hour. Now he just needed to remember where the elixir stand was…

He spent more time than he would have liked just wandering. He knew what the stand looked like, he even knew what the guy running it looked like. Still, there were a lot of stands, even if he knew the general area.

Finally, he saw the familiar stand not far away. He dashed over, taking a few hops before managing to grab the edge of the counter and climbing up. 

“Hey! Potion man! I need your help!”

A young man on the other side of the counter jumped at King’s shouting. 

“I’m sorry! Can I help you?”

“Yeah, you can give me Eda’s elixir now before I send my dark armies to destroy you!”

He looked at King for a moment, confused, before something seemed to click into place.

“Oh! You’re Eda’s pet, aren’t you?”

“I am no pet! I am her close friend and confidant! And I’m here to pick up her elixir.”

The man looked upset, glancing to the side before looking back at King.

“I already told Eda, it won’t be ready for another five days!”

“What!!”

“She ordered more two days ago and I told her then that it would be ready in a week. I still need five more days to finish it.”

“But she needs it now!” King said, definitely not whining. The King of Demons did not whine.

“I’m sorry, my hands are tied! You can’t rush these things or the elixir won’t even work.”

King huffed and puffed, stomping his feet before devolving into his scream of rage, a high pitched squeak that made everyone in the nearby area stare and snicker. His tantrum was only stopped when unfamiliar hands picked him up. He struggled in their arms, hitting and kicking anything he could reach. 

“Unhand me, fiend! I must destroy this potion man!”

“Why? What’s going on here?”

King calmed down a little bit when he heard the familiar voice, turning in the arms to glare up at their face. Niliana looked down at him, a look of concern and confusion on her face. Perfect! She and Eda were friends or business partners or something, right? She could help!

“I need to get Eda’s elixir from this guy, but he won’t give it to me!” He shouted, crossing his arms and glaring at the man. HE looked and sounded every part a grumpy child not getting his way. At least it was about something important.

“I can’t give it to you, it’s not done yet.” He replied, words slow and emphasized in an attempt to get it across to the small demon. 

The older witch looked between the two, took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh. 

“Okay, Eda needs this elixir of hers, but it’s not ready yet.”

The man nodded.

“When will it be ready?”

“Five days.”

“Okay. Then we’ll be back in five days.”

“But-” King tried to speak up.

“We’ll be back in five days, right King?”

He huffed and looked away, still very aggravated with the turn of events. Finally, he gave a resigned nod.

“Fine. But it better be ready!”

Niliana gave a little bow to the man and walked away, the grumbling demon still held in one arm. She climbed onto the staff in her other hand and flew off, headed to the forest King had come from. He was thinking so hard he hadn’t even noticed they were flying right away. 

“Where’s the house?”

King pointed at the general direction. The few minutes it took to get there were spent in silence.

King had no idea what he was going to do now. Eda had been taken over by her curse. She was an angry monster now with no way to turn her back. What was he going to tell Luz? How were they supposed to handle this over the next five days? He really didn’t know what to think. He wished this had never happened. He just wanted Eda back.

They landed a few feet from the house. King gave a sad little thank, dropping off the staff. For a moment, he just sat there before forcing himself to his feet. Still, he didn’t walk to the house, just looked at it as his worries grew. 

He heard the witch behind him shuffle about before sitting next to him.

“King, what’s going on? What does Eda need the elixir for?”

He tried to look angry when he looked up to her, but that was hard to do when he was also trying to fight back tears. He debated whether or not it was even a good idea to tell her, but they really good use her help. He really didn’t want to go back into that house alone.

“Okay, I’ll tell you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone else!”

“I promise.”

“Pinky promise!”

She did so, and that was enough reassurance for King. He told her everything he knew about Eda’s curse, which granted wasn’t much. She was cursed when she was younger and if she doesn’t drink her elixirs she turns into a giant owl monster that attacks anything that moves. 

“Which is why I was at the market.” He finished. “Eda’s out so I thought I’d get her some more. Now she’s stuck as a monster and I don’t know what to do!”

Niliana hummed thoughtfully, looking over to the house. After some time she got up, hand clenched around her staff tightly. 

“Alright, we can handle this.”

“We can?” King asked, shocked. “You’re going to help us?”

“Of course. I’m not about to just leave you all like this. Someone’s going to get hurt.”

“Thank you!” He shouted, throwing himself at the witch. She managed to catch him in her arm, smiling as he gave her the best hug he could manage. They both looked to those, silent as they thought over what to do next.


	4. A Tense Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone tries to figure out how exactly to handle Owl Beast Eda. Or, at the very least, get her to not kill them.

The house was dark, all the curtains drawn, and not even hooty made a sound. The door opened with only the slightest of creaks, but it was drowned out by Eda’s loud snoring. Two heads peaked through the door, taking in the form of the sleeping beast.

“So… That’s Eda?” Niliana asked. King nodded. “Alright then.” They closed the door gently and Niliana began pacing, trying to think up a plan. She didn’t really know anything about… well, any of this! She didn’t know anything about curses, beasts, how she was supposed to act around something like Eda in her owl form, how she was supposed to handle any of this. But she promised to help and she couldn’t let anyone get hurt. She sighed.

“Alright, first thing first, we DON’T wake her up. No one is going to react well being startled awake like that. Can you handle that?”

“Of course! That I can do! I just won’t go inside. Ever.”

Niliana just looked at him for a moment.

“That… seems unreasonable, but okay. I’m going to sit inside with Eda. When Luz gets back, make sure you warn her and tell her to be quiet.”

“Can do!” King gave a mock salute before running off. He sat underneath one of the nearby trees. Once he was settled he gave Nily a little wave. She sighed through her nose, turning away so he wouldn’t see the look of exasperation on her face. Once again, she opened the door, closing it behind her softly.

She took in the room for a moment, taking note of anything that looked important and fragile. She didn’t want anything of Eda’s to break. Thankfully, nothing of the sort was in sight. She decided it was best to take her boots off at the door, putting them to the side neatly. She left her staff by the door as well, leaning against the wall. Her footsteps were padded by the dense carpet as she made her way to the couch, having to scoot around the giant feathery being that took up quite a bit of the room. She sat with a sigh, propping her elbow on her leg and resting her chin in her hand. For a moment she just watched Eda sleep, thinking.

She didn’t know a lot about Edalyn Clawthorne. Sure, they went to school together and were in the same track, but their interactions were minimal. At the time she was definitely one of the quiet kids. She largely kept to herself and was honestly afraid of being noticed, especially by her fellow students. To her, Eda was the most confusing person. Who would ever want to cause that much trouble on purpose? Who would want to have so many eyes on her, constantly watching and judging? She acted like it was nothing! Like it didn’t even matter what others thought of her. All she cared about was having fun and enjoying herself. 

When she was younger, Niliana almost hated her for it. She went through her days doing everything within her power to avoid the other girl, actively taking routes through the halls that she was least likely to be in, walking away whenever she spotted the familiar splash of orange hair, all of that. She cringes now just thinking about it. She regretted so much of her childhood and one of her greatest regrets was not realizing just how much she actually admired Eda until she had already left. She regretted not reaching out and at least trying to be her friend.

Well, her Mama always said it’s better late than never.

She froze when the beast let out an odd sound, a soft chirping of some sort. She shifted in her spot, curling up a little more, before going still once more. It was a few more minutes before Niliana let herself relax. She realized it may be some time before Eda actually woke up. Owls were nocturnal creatures, after all, and she looked rather comfortable.

She waved her hand, forming a teal circle in the air. From the circle materialized a wooden box, settling in her lap. She opened it, rummaging through till she found what she was searching for, a large piece of fabric, one of the ones. Eda had gotten for her from the human realm. She found the needle she had also stashed away and got to work. 

Sure, she could have made her stuffed animals with magic. She knew how well enough. But there was something about making something with her hands that relaxed her, the repeated motion of the needle moving through the fabric, watching something form from nothing but pieces of cloth. It made her swell to see the final product come out well, and she loved it even more to see others enjoy her cute little animals. It was the thought that something she so enjoyed making could bring joy to others as well. 

It was a couple of hours later when she heard the front door open again. Luz poked her head through cautiously, looking uncertain. King was close behind her, looking just as uncertain. Nily sighed, putting her work away. She’d have to come back to it later. She got to her feet and made her way to the door, ushering the two away so she could actually get through the door. 

“Is Eda really stuck like that for FIVE DAYS?!” Luz said almost immediately, clinging onto the witch’s arm. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, just staring up at Nily with her big brown eyes. The witch smiled kindly at her, giving the girl a hug. She clung to her shoulders, body shaking.

“Yes, she is,” Nily admitted. “But it’s not forever. Only a few days and she’ll be back. Until then, I know we can figure it out.” Luz nodded, stepping back and wiping at her eyes. “Hey.” The girl looked up to her again. “It’s going to be okay.” The girl smiled, reassured. Nily smiled back, ruffling her hair. 

“Alright, you two.” Nily said, standing up a bit straighter with her hands on her hips. “Eda is still sleeping and probably will be till night. It’s probably best if we don’t wake her, so you can either stay outside or come inside and be very quiet. Once she does wake up, we’ll need to be very careful until we’re sure she’s not going to be attacking anybody. If she does try something, then I’ll … I’ll just have to trap her with my magic until we find a way to calm her down. Sound good?”

They both nodded, looking determined. She nodded back.

“Alright. I’m going back inside for now. I’ll probably be starting dinner soon, too, so don’t go too far.”

She headed back to the house, two pairs of footsteps following her a moment later. They all entered the house quietly. Nily sat back on the couch, taking out her wooden box once more. While she did that, King and Luz quietly watched the sleeping form of Eda’s owl form. A was a bit before they seemed to gain the courage to walk past her and head for the hallway past the far end of the couch.

“I’m going to do some homework.” Luz whispered. Nily nodded and watched the girl vanish into the hall. King looked like he was about to follow but stopped, glancing back to Eda, then to Nily, then back to the hall. In the end, he climbed onto the couch, curling up next to the witch for a good nap. She smiled softly at that, petting his back before taking out her project.

\----------------------------------

Eda stirred, giving a big yawn and stretching, her wings brushing against the sealing and claws digging into the carpet. She shook out her feathers, letting out a humming sound, and looked around, sniffing the air. 

Home.

But there was a sound, odd and unfamiliar. There was an odd smell in the air, meaty and hot, and underneath the smell of another creature. She started growling.

Not safe! Intruder! Protect my home! Leave!

She followed the smell through the dark house, her fangs bared and a snarl in her throat. It was nearby, so close, but the room was shrouded in light, far too bright for her to see properly. She screeched at the bright light, shutting her eyes and shaking her head, but she refused to back up. She may not be able to see, but she could still smell the intruder easy enough and hear them move. They were backing up from her and she could almost taste the fear. 

She snarled at them, taking a step forward. There wasn’t enough room in her current spot to attack properly. She could feel the walls against her wings even when they pressed close to her body. The intruder made a sound, soft and non-threatening, but Eda didn’t care. She just wanted them out! 

She squeezed her way out of her tiny spot, into the open room where she could move better. It still wasn’t ideal, she couldn’t stretch her wings out properly, but she was in a much better position. She could easily pounce or swipe at them and that was enough.

For a moment she stayed frozen, body tense as she listened intently. She tried opening her eyes, just enough to squint at her surroundings. It was difficult, but she could just make out a dark shape that moved slightly. She lunged, hands coming down on the empty floor. She whipped around, searching. She could hear the stumbling footsteps to her side and swiped at the sound, snarling and screeching at it. She heard them stumble back with a yelp. They were moving farther away, towards the darker room. 

She kept pushing them back. If she could get them in the dark, she could see her target better. It was almost too easy, but she was finally able to open her eyes without them burning. The room she had woken up in was covered in cool darkness and she could see the invader clearly. They were one of those two-legged creatures, the ones that seemed incapable of just leaving her alone. 

Her ears twitched. She could hear more footsteps nearby, stomping and loud. She screeched, whipping around to face the new intruders, another slightly smaller two-legged creature and a tiny demon. It only took her a quick look over for her to decide they weren’t as much of a threat as the first intruder. So she turned back to them, body tensing to pounce.

There was a flash of light, a circle in the air and instinct told her that wasn’t good, that the circle spelled her doom. So she tried to pounce, to stop them, only to abruptly run into a wall. She growled and huffed, shaking her head, ready to attack again. 

But she couldn’t.

Around her was an orb of light, tinting the world a shade of teal. She was trapped.

\-------------------------

Niliana let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding. Well, that was certainly something. 

“Nily!”

Luz and King ran to her, wrapping their arms around her. Well, King did his best but ended up hugging her leg instead. She hugged them back.

“It’s okay guys, I’m fine.” She reassured them. “Eda’s fine, too.”

On cue, they heard the owl beast screech and turned to see her trying to fight against her bubble prison. She stopped struggling after a few moments, glaring at them with her big black eyes.

“I think I’ll just leave her in there for a little bit. We can see if she’s calmed down after dinner.” 

“We can try feeding her!” Luz offered, eyes shining. 

“Mmmm, maybe. We’ll see if she’s calmed down first.”

“Is something burning?” King interrupted them. Nily sighed.

“Probably. I left dinner on the stove.” 

She left to finish that, leaving the other two to do whatever they chose to do. They ended up staying in the living room for only a few moments before following her into the kitchen. The owl beast in a bubble was definitely an odd sight, one King was more than happy to poke fun at, but ultimately they decided her best chance at calming down would be leaving her alone for now.

Dinner that night was probably the best they had in quite a while. As much as they loved Eda, she was not much of a cook. King was shoveling the food, some sort of meat and vegetable concoction, straight into his mouth, the fork lying forgotten on the table. Luz wasn’t much better, but at least she used utensils. The girl went on and on about her day at school, excitedly recounting an incident where an abomination went rogue. Her arms flung about as she retold the story, almost hitting King in her excitement several times. Each time he made a noise of annoyance. 

Nily did her best to listen, but truthfully her mind was elsewhere. She could still hear Eda in the other room, huffing and chittering to herself, probably still attempting to escape her confinement. She had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to get through to her. She had thought she would have at least the vaguest of ideas when she saw how exactly Eda acted in this form, but nope. In this moment she really wished she had bothered at least a little bit of beast keeping. Maybe she should visit the library tomorrow and check out a few books. Of course, that didn’t help with tonight.

King finished first, but he was determined not to go into the living room alone, so he waited until Luz was done. And Luz didn’t want to go until Niliana was done and could go with them. So, they all went in together. The lights turned on as they entered the room.

Eda laid still in her bubble, looking rather downtrodden. It appeared that she had given up on the whole escape thing. Her eyes were on them the moment they left the kitchen, her fangs bared at them. Niliana sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. She really hadn’t expected her day to turn out like this. She stared at the creature who stared right back. She seemed to dislike her the most, which was at least a little comforting. It meant that she wouldn’t go after Luz or King first. 

“She’s not calm enough yet.” Nily decided. 

“So, what do we do? Eda can’t just stay in a bubble for five days!” Luz looked up to her for answers. So, she thought. They needed Eda to at least withstand their presence.

“Maybe we should try … just spending some time around her.” Niliana said. “Maybe if she just got use to us being around then she can just ignore us.”

“I had some glyphs I wanted to practice! Hold on!” She rushed off, stumbling up the stairs, no doubt to collect her work. Thankfully, Niliana had her own stuff to work on as well. She sat on the couch and got her box back out. King jumped onto the couch by her side, watching her get all her supplies out.

“Soooo…” He piped up. “Whatcha making? A minion of evil?!”

“It’s going to be an owl.”

King scoffed.

“That doesn’t look anything like an owl! Where's its wings? Or its feet?”

“I’m not yet. This is just the head. I just need to finish attaching the beak then I can sew on the eyes.”

“Wait, that’s just the head!” King said, astonished. The bundle of fabric she had was almost as big as King’s own head! Nily just nodded.

“I haven’t made something this big in a while.” She admitted. 

It was around then that they could hear Luz stomping back down the stairs, running into the living room with a bright smile and her arms full of papers. She dropped them on the floor, plopping herself next to the couch. 

“Watch this!” She said, grabbing a piece of paper and drawing a glyph on it. She gave it a tap and the paper crumbled into itself, morphing into a ball of light. Nily gave an impressed “huh”. She didn’t even know humans could do magic. Though, it made sense. Eda wouldn’t have taken her on as an apprentice if she didn’t think it was possible.

King tugged on Nily’s shirt.

“Hey, hey, look at Eda!” he said, giggling to himself. 

Eda was staring intently at the ball of light, enraptured by the shiny orb. She gave a curious little chirp, squishing her face into her bubble to try and get closer. Luz laughed at the sight and Nily couldn’t help but let out her own little chuckle.

“Do owls like shiny things?” She pondered. King just shrugged.

“I don’t know, but Eda does!”

She thought that over as Luz made a few more balls of lights, looking delighted as Eda chirped and followed each orb with her black eyes, their light reflected in the inky depths. Finally, she nodded to herself.

“I think I’m gonna let her go now.” She warned the others as she drew a circle in the air. They didn’t really have time to respond before the bubble silently popped, dropping the owl beast to the floor with a soft thump. For a moment, they all tensed up, waiting to see what Eda would do.

She let out a coo, ruffling her feathers and shaking her head. She turned those inky black eyes to the three of them, head tilted to the side. It looked like she was thinking, face scrunching up. She got to her feet, taking a step towards them and sniffing the air. For a moment she just stared, eyes roaming from one to the next. Finally, what seemed like hours later but was probably just seconds, she turned away from them, her attention drawn back to the balls of light. She batted at one of them, letting out a little coo.

Everyone relaxed, the tension in the air dissolving. Luz smiled up at Niliana, eyes shimmering with the threat of tears. She didn’t say anything but the witch understood, smiling back. 

Everything was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me so long to write. At one point I got halfway through and then just deleted it all because I didn't like the direction it was going.
> 
> I wonder if you can tell that I like making stuffed animals? I'm sure you can't tell based on the entire paragraph I wrote about how much I love it! 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!


	5. A Long Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niliana has a long night ahead of her.

It was late into the night and the house had gone dark, the only light coming from the orbs floating around the ceiling in the living room. Luz and King had gone to bed hours ago after saying their goodnights. They had wondered if they could give Eda a hug goodnight but a warning growl kept them away, at least for now. Nily had no doubt they would attempt it again in the future. 

Despite the late hour, Niliana couldn’t go to sleep. Not that she didn’t want to. Her eyes stung from exhaustion, lids drooping often, and she felt like she could drop off at any time. But she couldn’t sleep thanks to the giant owl monster in the house. 

At the very least, she wasn’t screeching at everything. If she made any sound it was a soft chirp or coo, which meant she wouldn’t wake the other two up. Unfortunately, she grew bored of playing with the little bubbles of light and instead turned her attention to the only other thing of interest in the room, Niliana. 

She had tried working on her stuffed animal at first and for a little bit Eda just stared from across the room, still hesitant to approach the witch. Still, when she was attempting to grab more fabric from her box the owl beast was suddenly approaching her, scooting over a bit before pausing to gauge her reaction then scooting over a bit more until she was by the witch’s side. Nily froze, only watching as Eda sniffed at the sewing box, chirping curiously. 

Then she tried to eat the box.

Nily moved the box away before she could, giving a gentle but firm, “no”. Eda blinked at her owlishly, then looked back to the box with a grumbling sort of sound before trying to eat it again. Nily moved it out of the way again with a sigh, putting all her supplies away and vanishing the box with a flick of her wrist. Eda stared at where the box had been for a moment before looking back to Nily, head tilted to the side and a little whine escaping her throat. 

“Sorry, hun.” Nily said, giving the beast a comforting smile. “You can’t eat my box.”

Eda whined again, ears drooping. She just looked so sad Nily couldn’t help but chuckle at her. Eda’s ears perked up at the sound.

“I guess I should find some blankets and stuff, huh?”

Eda didn’t reply, just kept on staring. Nily sighed, hefting herself to her feet and stretching. Her body made a few odd pops as she stretched, making Nily groan. Man, she was feeling old today. 

She decided to search for bedding in the downstairs hallway, creating an orb of light to see what she was doing. She went through a few different doors, mostly closets and what looked like a workshop, before finding the right closet. The shelves were filled with various moth-eaten blankets, most looking quite run down. She let out an irritated little huff, pushed up her sleeves, and got to work sorting through all the worn fabric. As she worked she could hear Eda shifting about in the other room, grumbling and chirping to herself. The thudding footsteps soon found their way into the hallway she was in and she could feel her hot breath on her neck.

Finally, she found a few blankets that weren’t too terrible and even a pillow. She dragged them off the shelves, doing her best to try and keep the others in place. It wasn’t like the closet was tidy to begin with, but she preferred not to move a whole lot, especially since it wasn’t her house. 

She turned around, coming face to face with Eda. She didn’t jump purely because she already knew the beast was there, but her heart still skipped a beat at just how close she was. 

“Hello dear.” Nily found herself saying, even though she was sure Eda wasn’t quite able to understand her. Of course, now she had the issue of getting past the giant creature so she could put her find on the couch. She would probably be sleeping there for the next couple of nights. She tried shooing her away but she didn’t budge, just blinked at her. So, she tried to shove past her as gracefully as possible. Technically, it did work as far as she got past Eda, but she came out the other side with her hair messed, well, more than usual at least, and covered in stray feathers. It was only then that Eda turned around to continue following the witch.

Nily dropped her load onto the couch, desperately attempting to comb her hair with her fingers and get it back into the resemblance of tidy. It was rather difficult, considering all the kinks and knots that had accumulated over the day. 

Eda started pacing from one end of the room to the other, occasionally glancing over to the witch on the other side of the room, occasionally glancing at the shiny orbs, and occasionally glancing at her feet as she walked. Her wings stretched as far as they could go, nowhere near their full length, before falling back to her side with a rustle of feathers. Nily watched her curiously as she laid the blankets and pillow out. 

Niliana sat down on her makeshift bed, just hoping it would be enough to let her sleep for a few hours or so. She laid down with a sigh, dragging the blankets over herself and shifting to face the back of the couch. She yawned, long and wide, and tried to go to sleep. 

And Eda kept pacing and ruffling her feathers and making an odd noise here and there. At first, Nily felt that she could ignore it. But then time passed and the pacing never did stop and it became far more distracting the harder Nily tried to ignore it. She gave up when the pacing stopped and she felt herself being nudged by a large hand. She sighed. It was his fault, really. She shouldn’t have expected to get sleep sharing the room with a giant nocturnal monster. 

She rolled over, glaring up at the creature who loomed over her. Eda made a sort of cooing sound, nudging her again. She sighed.

“Alright, alright, I’m getting up.”

So she did, debating what she was supposed to do now. Eda was rather fidgety, that much was clear. Perhaps she needed to go out for a while, get some energy out. But it wasn’t like she could just go running off into the night! Anything could happen! She could attack someone wandering in the dark, Nily could lose sight of her and she’d never return, she could get caught or killed, really, the possibilities were endless. 

But then again, staring at the poor creature as she continued her fidgeting about, it would be cruel to force her to stay in the house. So, she thought it over a bit more before giving a nod. Yes, that was an idea. 

She drew a circle in the air and for a moment it sat there, shimmering. Eda glared at it, giving a little hiss, but then cocking her head to the side in confusion when the ring of light vanished and it appeared that nothing had happened. It took her a moment to notice the color around her neck, glowing faintly in the dark. She growled at it, tried prying it off with her claws but it was firmly in place. 

She was distracted when Niliana got up, stretching and heading for the door. She grabbed her staff from where it had been resting against the wall and looked back.

“Come on, dear.” she said, opening the front door. 

“What exactly are you doing?” The door spoke in the most irritating voice Niliana could have possibly imagined. She looked on the other side, where Hooty appeared to be attempting to glare at her. “You told me to keep Eda in the house.”

“And now we’re going for a walk. Unless, of course, you want her destroying the house.”

“Mmmmmmmmmmmm, okay!” He all but shouted. Nily looked back into the house, smiling at the owl beast who just kept staring.

“Come.” She said, beckoning to Eda. She crowed from inside, shifting from one foot to the other. Then, ever so slowly, she approached the door herself, sniffing at the night air, so much fresher than inside. She gave a screech of delight, hopping outside and running in a big circle. She was finally able to stretch out, her wings extending to their full height and her claws digging into the soft earth. She gave a few powerful flaps, sending the leaves around her flying in the draft. Black eyes turned back to the witch who was walking towards her. 

“Go on.” Nily motioned towards the woods. “Run off. I’ll keep an eye on things.”

She didn’t need any encouragement, of course. She had taken off before the witch had finished speaking. 

Nily followed on her staff or at least did her best to follow.

\---------------------------------

In the morning, Luz didn’t run down the stairs like she usually did. She had enough self-control to be a bit quieter, just in case Eda was sleeping. Sure enough, when she peeked into the living room she could see the owl beast fast asleep, curled up in the middle of the room. She smiled, eyes shimmering with delight. 

“So cuuuuute!” She whisper-screamed. For a moment she wondered if she could get away with booping her nose or petting her. Instead, she went to the kitchen for breakfast. 

Niliana leaning back against the counter, her head in her hands. She looked up when Luz walked in, managing a faint smile. Even the oblivious teenage girl could see she was tired. It was in the way she held herself and the circles under her eyes.

“Hey, hun.”

“Hi, Nily!” Luz chirped, just as bright and happy as ever. “Do you want me to make breakfast?”

The witch debated it for a moment, a hand coming up to rub her hands. Ultimately, she decided she was too exhausted to make anything properly.

“Alright, if you want. Let me know if you need my help.”

“Okay!”

Luz wasn’t the best cook, but there were a few things she was pretty good at. One of those things just happened to be pancakes and luckily they had everything she needed to whip some up for everyone. 

She was just starting to mix everything together, Nily keeping an eye on her, when the two witches heard a squeak from the living room. A moment later King appeared in the kitchen doorway, looking like he was trying to hide how shaken he was. Luz had a smirk on her face, trying not to giggle as the little demon went and sat at the table.

“Hey, King.”

“Yeah? What do you want?” 

“What, uh … What was that sound we heard?”

King huffed and crossed his arms. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really? You sure about that?”

King gave a decisive nod.

“Cause it sounded to me like you squeaked. Like a little squeaky toy!” Luz's voice got louder as she tried harder to not just outright laugh at him. 

“I am not a squeaky toy! I just … I forgot about Eda for a moment and was maybe caught a little off guard.” He finally admitted. 

Luz finally laughed, almost spilling some of the batter. Nily just smiled a tired smile. 

During breakfast, Luz informed everyone that she was going out with her friends today. They were going to practice some of their magic in the woods. Nily nodded and accepted it. She let them know she was going to take a nap before going out herself. She needed to grab some of her things and maybe check out a book or two on beastkeeping. King volunteered to keep an eye on Eda while everyone was out. Nily was hesitant to leave him alone with the owl beast but eventually gave in. She was probably going to be sleeping the whole time anyway and it wouldn’t take her long to get her things.

So, they all left to do their own things. Nily yawned as she settled on the couch, dragging the worn blankets over her shoulders. Nearby, Eda slept fitfully after a long night of running and flying about. The witch fell asleep quickly to the sound of her grumbling snores.


	6. Not Enough Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niliana goes through a rather tiring day, just wishing she had more time to sleep.

The market was bustling with life that day. Niliana just had to be there on the busiest day of the week at the busiest time, didn’t she? As she struggled to push her way through the throng she wondered if it wouldn’t have been better to just skip the nap and go earlier in the day even if it would have left her exhausted. Whatever, she couldn’t do anything about that now.

She heaved a sigh of relief when she finally reached her tent, the din of the crowd muffled ever so slightly by the heavy fabric of the tent walls. With a snap of her fingers, the dark was lit by the clusters of various candles scattered about. She was thankful to find that nothing had been moved or taken while she was gone. Usually, she would put up some sort of ward to keep potential thieves and troublemakers away but she hadn’t gotten the chance to do so yesterday after running into King. 

It had been a very long time since she had taken the tent down. She couldn’t even remember the last time that happened. This tent had been her home for so many years now, there really had been no need, but today would be different. She really couldn’t leave it up if she wasn’t going to be around for a couple of days. 

It really only took a few minutes to pack everything up, items flying about. The tent folded in on itself, blanketing everything else until it formed a single pack. Then, with a circle of light, it vanished. All that was left was her small stall, but she could leave that behind. It wasn’t exactly that important.

Unfortunately, now that the tent was gone she was surrounded on all sides by the crowd once again. She noticed that there was a small group of witchlings nearby that stared up at her in wonder. Clearly they had watched her put her tent away, amazed by the show of magic they were incapable of doing themselves. Nily gave them a shy little wave and a few of them waved back before the whole group ran off, talking and giggling amongst themselves. 

She made her way to the library, avoiding as much of the crowd as possible. The library itself wasn’t nearly as busy, the silence deafening after the noise from outside. 

It took her longer than she would have liked to go over the beast taming section, glancing through the different book titles. There were a few books that sounded promising. She picked those ups and gleaned through the chapter titles, but nothing seemed to quite fit Eda’s situation. After some time she decided it may be best to look in a different section. Eda was cursed, right? Then maybe she needed a book on curses instead. 

By the time she finally left the library, sadly empty-handed, the sun was getting dangerously close to the horizon. She felt a bit of panic rise in her chest. Eda would be waking up soon if she hadn’t already. She took a deep breath. She was sure it would be fine. Hooty knew not to let him out and she had to trust King was smart enough not to get himself killed. Still, she rushed back as quickly as she could. 

Luckily, when she got back the house hadn’t been torn apart or something.

“Hey Nily!” Hooty croaked in his annoying voice as the witch approached the front door. 

“Everything okay?”

“Yep!” 

Nily had opened the door before he had even answered but froze in the doorway.

The living room was empty.

She took another deep breath, shoving the panic down once more. Hooty said everything was, so she must be in the house. She just wasn’t in the living room. And she couldn’t be chasing King around or something because there was no screaming or the sound of running footsteps.

She left her staff by the door, the wooden snake curled on top suddenly springing to life and slithering up her arm to rest on her shoulders. She smiled at him, giving him a little scratch under his chin before going to search the house. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take long. Eda was just such a large creature there weren’t too many places to hide. She ended up finding her in what she assumed was her room. The pair of double doors were already open, revealing the decently large room beyond filled with various shelves and boxes of stuff and a large nest against the left wall, complete with sticks and some shiny things. That’s where Eda was, laying in her nest, pitch-black eyes staring at her the moment she appeared in the doorway. A low growl filled the room, making the witch freeze in place. 

The growling quickly turned into chirps of delight. She bounded out of her nest to meet the witch. She smiled, chuckling at her.

“Hey hun, what’re you up to?”

The beast cooed back. Apparently not much.

“Do you know where King is?”

Eda just blinked back at her.

“He’s probably napping somewhere, isn’t he? So much for keeping an eye on you, huh?”

She chuckled to herself and went downstairs, Eda following close behind.

\---------------------------------------------

When Luz got home she didn’t burst through the door like she usually did. She was a bit more subdued. Of course, that didn’t stop her from shouting an “I’m home!” and smiling at the wonderful smells that were coming from the kitchen. She smiled a little wider when she got to the kitchen and saw everyone together. Nilly was cooking, of course, while King looked like he was trying to play with a very uninterested looking Eda at the table. She looked at the girl as she walked in, making a cute little cooing sound. 

“Welcome back, hun! Did you have a good day with your friends?”

“Yeah, it was pretty good.” Luz shrugged her shoulders, sitting at the table. 

King whipped his head around, narrowing his eyes at the girl critically. Luz started to sweat a bit under his gaze.

“Are you sure about that?” He asked, leaning a little closer. Luz tried not to look right at him.

“Whaaat? Yeah, of course! Why would I lie?”

Clearly, no one believed her. Even Nily was giving her a side glance that said she knew something was off. At least she didn’t bother the girl about it, unlike King.

“Did something happen?”

“No.”

“Something happened.”

“Nothing happened!”

“Something had to have happened! I know these things.”

“Clearly you don’t.”

“Yes I do! I know everything.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I do!”

“Then you tell me what happened.”

“So something DID happen!”

Luz groaned in frustration, sinking into her seat and stubbornly crossing her arms, refusing to say anything else. King looked triumphant, proudly resting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest like he just won some great battle. Nily shook her head.

“King, leave her be. If she wants to talk about she’ll talk about it. Pestering her isn’t going to help anything.”

King deflated slightly at her words, sitting back down.

“Sorry, Luz.”

She smiled at him.

“It’s okay, King. I just don’t want to talk about it.”

For a moment they just sat in awkward silence. Luz desperately looked around for something to talk about to break the quiet. 

“Hey, why is Eda wearing a collar?”

That seemed to do it well enough. King blinked at Luz, then looked really hard at Eda who blinks back owlishly. It was very difficult to make out, blended almost perfectly with the feathers on her neck, but sure enough, there was a collar there. It just looked like she had some gray leather around her neck.

“It glows in the dark.” Niliana said, not even bothering to look up from her work. She was already getting the plates ready. “So I can keep an eye on her when she goes outside at night.”

“What!” Luz shouted, jumping to her feet and slamming her hands on the table, making Eda and King jump. “You’re playing with her outside? I want to do that!”

Niliana hummed, thinking it over. Of course Luz would want to spend more time with Eda, especially outside where there was more room. But going out at night did not seem like the best idea, especially for the teenager who was still growing and needed her sleep. Maybe if they went out earlier in the day.

“Not today.” She finally said, placing the plates on the table. “It’s a bit too late and I don’t want you outside when it’s dark. We can try tomorrow before dinner.”

Luz huffed but sat down. “Fine.” Of course, the frown didn’t stay on her face long. “I can’t wait! We’re going to have so much fun!”

“Hey! I want to come too!” King shouted, apparently feeling left out. “I can make her my minion of evil!”

Eda was staring at them intently and Nily noticed. Well, she wasn’t staring at the people at the table. It was more like she was staring at their plates, grumbling to herself and drooling. So, she made another plate and put it on the floor for her, too. There wouldn’t be any leftovers today, but no one really cared, especially when King and Luz just laughed and giggled at how happy it made the owl beast. 

\--------------------

This night was darker than yesterday. Niliana could only just make out the branches of the trees above her and the trunks surrounding her. She had to walk slowly to make sure she didn’t run into anything. Far ahead of her, in the branches, she could make out the glow of something teal, Eda moving around and jumping about, doing whatever.

It was only the second night, but Nily was already slowing down. She was still tired from last night and not getting nearly enough sleep throughout the day to make up for it. Still, she trudged on, keeping Eda within sight the best she could. 

And that worked for a while. But then, well into the night when the moon was on its way down, she lost sight of her. It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, she could make out the glow of her color bopping about ahead of her. The next, it was gone. Niliana didn’t freak out like she thought she would. She was far too tired for that. Instead, she just sighed and mounted her broom, flying above the tree canopy.

It was much brighter up here, the moon and stars lighting everything up and giving them a silver glow. But Nily didn’t really have time to admire it, she had a cursed beast to find. 

She didn’t see anything above the trees, so it was unlikely she had flown away. She flew down, hovering over the canopy and gazing through the branches, searching for any sign of movement or the glow of the collar. 

She had only been at it for a short while, likely less than a minute, when she heard the branches nearby start to rustle. Suddenly, a giant mass burst out. She just managed to swerve out of the way and avoid getting knocked off her staff. Well, that was one way to wake her up. 

“Eda, what was that for?” she shouted, but there was no anger in her voice. 

The owl beast was flying next to her. Well, flying circles around her, really, each beat of her wings nearly grazing the witch's shoulders. The beast trilled at her, a smile clear on her face. 

They flew together for a while, Niliana just following Eda around. She had more than enough time now to admire her surroundings. Sure, she flew around quite a bit, often very high, but it had been a very long time since she got to do it a night. The stars were so clear and bright.

The horizon was just turning gray, dawn fast approaching, when Eda decided she wanted to go home. She walked through the woods slowly, clearly very tired. Not that Niliana was complaining. She didn’t exactly have the most energy either. So, they walked, the morning air crisp, the birds just beginning to sing. It was nice.

When they got back to the house, ignoring Hooty’s good mornings, Nily immediately collapsed onto the couch, face down in the cushions. It was not a very comfortable couch, but she was just so tired it felt like the softest couch on the Isles. Eda settled next to the couch, staring intently at the witch until she moved again. She just grabbed the blanket and dragged it over her shoulders, mumbling a good night to the owl beast before promptly falling asleep.

Eda watched her a moment longer before giving an enormous yawn and curling up as close to the couch as she could. It didn’t take her long to fall asleep, either.

When Luz and King came down later in the morning, they decided they wouldn’t bother Nily today. They let her sleep as long as she needed.


	7. Nest Building

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eda works on some nests.

The house was silent most of the day. It wasn’t due to a lack of people, though. Everyone was home. Even more, they were all in the living room. And yet, they were all quiet. Granted, at least two of them were sleeping, but that left the noisiest of the bunch somehow quiet.

Luz and King were whispering amongst each other in the corner, occasionally glancing over to the couch where Nily and Eda were sleeping. From where they were, all they could really see was the mass of gray feathers that was Eda. It was clear that they were planning something mischievous. 

Finally, the two stopped their conspiring, staring over at the sleeping owl beast. King glanced back at Luz who gave him a thumbs up and an encouraging smile. He nodded, a determined look on his face. As quietly as he could, he tiptoed closer to Eda, getting an arm’s reach away before pausing and glancing back at Luz again. He took a deep breath and reached out to touch the owl beast, his eyes squeezed shut as he waited for her retaliation. After a few moments of nothing he decided it was safe enough top open them again. 

“Luz!” he whisper shouted, eyes shining with delight. “I can pet her!”

Once that realization was made, Luz was quick to sneak over and start petting Eda as well. 

“She’s so soft!” Luz squealed, making king giggle. They spent quite a while just talking in squeaky little voices and petting the soft feathers. Clearly, their mission was a success! They finally got the chance to pet Eda and she wasn’t attacking them for it!

They froze when Eda shifted, immediately snatching their hands away. And maybe King was startled enough to fall back, but he would never admit it. 

Eda gave an irritated huff, turning to face the two that woke her up. For a moment they just stared at her before Luz gave a little wave.

“Hey Eda! You, uh, sleeping well?”

She grumbled, turning her back to them and trying to fall back asleep. For a moment, everything was fine and quiet. But then King and Luz tried petting Eda again. She was very much not in the mood for that. She whipped around and snapped at them, growling. That was enough to send them running, giggling at themselves like the troublemakers they are. Eda glared at them until they vanished through the front door, huffing again as she settled back down. 

\-------------------------------------

When Niliana woke up at sunset it was with a groan and great reluctance. Her whole body ached after sleeping the day away on the couch. She slowly sat up, stretching and grimacing at the series of pops and cracks that came from her body. Then she somehow managed to shove herself onto her feet and head for the bathroom.

Once she had gotten herself freshened up, she went back to the living room to fold the blankets up. It was only then, when she was more awake, that she noticed Eda wasn’t there anymore. She must have gone back to her own nest, she decided. So, she folded her blankets before heading upstairs to find her.

Only she wasn’t in her room. Nily frowned at that, glancing down the hall as she pondered where the owl beast could be. There was no point going through room by room if you could figure out the likeliest place for her. She ended up deciding to check Luz’s room. She didn’t know where else she would go. 

She peered through the door and, sure enough, there was Eda. She hardly had enough room to move in such a small room but she managed it somehow. It looked like she was working on something but from her position Nily couldn’t see what. She hoped the owl beast wasn’t eating Luz’s bedding or something. She did tend to chew on odd things.

“Eda, what are you doing?”

She whipped around when the witch spoke, chirping at her. That was enough to make Nily smile.

“What’re you up to, dear?”

She chirped again, returning to whatever it was she was doing. Nily debated with herself for a second before taking a deep breath and squeezing herself into the room, making her way to the far end of the room. Once she had pushed past all the feathers, she saw what looked like a pile of blankets. She stared at it confused. What WAS Eda doing? The beast just nudged the blankets this way and that, tilting her head in thought as she chirped to herself, then nudged the blankets again.

It took her longer than it probably should have to realize Eda was actually making a nest. She couldn’t help the stupid smile that took over her face. It was incredibly sweet. Even in her cursed form she clearly loved the girl very much. 

Eda made an odd noise at her, trying to reach past her.

“Oh, sorry hun. You get back to what you’re doing.” Nily said, stepping aside. Eda grabbed a blanket that she had been standing front off, adding it to the nest. She left the room, patting Eda’s side as she left. The beast let out a happy little rumble but didn't turn away from her ever so important work. Nily just chuckled, closing the door slightly as she left. But not all the way. She wasn’t sure Eda could manage door handles in her cursed state.  
She went to the kitchen to make dinner.

It was late when Luz discovered her new nest bed. She had already told everyone good night and had run upstairs. A few moments later Nily and King heard her let out the loudest squeal either of them had ever heard. Even Eda jumped at the sound, looking up, head tilted in confusion. The squeal was quickly followed by loud, stomping footsteps as she ran back downstairs and slid into the living room. She struggled to properly explain what exactly had made her so excited, King and Eda looking confused and Nily just smirking.

“There’s a nest in my room!” She finally managed to get out.

“Yeah, I saw Eda making it earlier.”

Luz couldn’t keep the smile off her face if she wanted to, which she didn’t. 

“Edaaaaa!” She cooed. Eda made a sound back, still not quite sure what the little human was making big fuss over. She froze when Luz wrapped her arms around her neck, saying thank you over and over again in the excited way only Luz could. Frankly, Nily was surprised the owl beast was taking it without complaint, only a slight look of irritation on her face.

Finally, Luz let her go, giving one last coo about how adorable she is and how much she loves her before running off again to go back to bed. With her absence the room went silent for several long moments. Nily noted that King was pouting on his spot on the couch, glaring at the floor with his cute little arms crossed. Nily sighed.

“What’s wrong, hun?”

“... I want a nest…”

She tried not to laugh too hard.

It wasn’t much longer before Eda was once more getting antsy, pacing back and forth and fidgeting. So, it was time to head out for their nightly “walk”. Nily said goodnight to King, who was already drifting off on the couch. The little demon made a non-committal sound, not even looking up or shifting from his curled up position. Nily didn’t really expect him to. She just gave him a little pat on the head as she left.

Eda wasn’t really in the running around mood that night. Nily was sort of grateful for that. It was such a struggle to keep up with her when she was dashing about all crazy like that. It was nice to get the chance to slow down for a little bit. 

At one point Eda became fixated on one tree in particular, climbing and clawing at the branches for whatever reason the witch couldn't understand. Nily took the opportunity to rest, sitting on the ground and leaning against the trunk of another tree. An orb of light floated about nearby, lighting up enough for her to see. It was as peaceful as these nights got.

She jumped when a large branch almost as thick around as her thigh, fell to the ground in front of her with a loud THUMP.

“What the…”

It took several moments and lots of deep breaths to settle her heart rate. Once that was settled, she gave the owl best standing over her a stern look. 

Eda only tilted her head in confusion, unsure what exactly the witch was unhappy about. Perhaps she didn’t like the branch? Did she need a smaller one? She was rather small herself. Yes, that would help, she was sure. So she chittered to herself and went back to her tree.

Nily watched her go with her own confusion. Why did Eda bring her a branch? What was the point? She ended up just shaking her head with a sigh, the teal light of her magic enveloping the branch so she could just set it aside and out of her way. However, she didn’t get the chance to put it down because the moment she lifted Eda got in the way.

She cooed and chittered, eyes trained on the floating branch. Nily watched the owl beasts reaction as she slowly moved the branch to one side. Eda’s eyes followed. She moved it to the other side. Same thing. That’s when Nily got an idea, a smirk on her lips. 

In a flash the branch was sent flying and Eda chased it, managing to get a few good scratches on it before abruptly, Nily changed its direction. Eda’s head whipped around to follow, batting at it some more. Nily laughed at her behaviour. 

They spent quite a bit of time playing like that. Sometimes Nily would let Eda catch it, chewing on it for a bit before it would suddenly zoom off again and she would chase after it with a growl or a screech. A few times Nily managed to get the owl beast to climb a tree to reach her wooden prey. The witch laughed more that night then she had in awhile.

After an hour or two of that, Eda tired herself out. She grabbed her branch and layed down by Nily, chewing away at the wood, close enough that the witch could feel the warmth of her body. That was fine with her. The night was cold, afterall. So they sat in silence. 

Nily watched the stars through a gap in the leaves and branches above her head. They always shined so bright. Sometimes, when it was clear enough and bright enough, she would lay down in a field and stare at them all night, picking through the pinpricks of light to whatever lay beyond. When she was younger, just a young teenager still in the potions track, she realized something remarkable about the night sky. If she stared hard enough and let her mind wander, just looked and listened to what the stars had to give, she could see and feel things. It was that night she realized she could actually predict the future. 

She had never experienced that sort of thing before. So, she did her research and ultimately decided to change her track to oracle. Now, that didn’t make her the best ever at oracle magic. She struggled heavily with the whole summoning and speaking with spirits thing that everyone else seemed to, but she managed enough. It was worth it as long as she got to learn more about how to glimpse the future.

You’d think that would help her predict such an odd situation as this, wouldn’t you? And yet…

Eda huffed and chirped, sounding a bit sad. Nily chuckled at just how sad she looked now that her branch was reduced to splinters and twigs. 

“Ah, poor baby, you broke your stick.”

She let out a truly depressed little howl, making her chuckle again.

“Alright hun, let's go find you another one.” 

\-------------------------------------------

When the two of them got home just before dawn Nily immediately collapsed onto the couch face first with a sigh, dropping her staff onto the ground as gently as possibly. The snake slithered off and up her arm, curling up in the middle of her back. Nily made a rumbly hum in response. She only sat there for a moment but she had nearly fallen asleep.

Eda gave an odd sort of whine, a sound Nily hadn’t heard her make before. She sighed, rolling onto her side so she could look at her, the snake crawling up to her shoulder.

“What are you going on about, hmm?”

Eda fidgeted in her spot, looking towards the hall then back at Nily with another little whine. She got up and walked over to the hall, but turned back to stare at her intently before actually entering. Nily squinted her eyes, trying to determine what she was supposed to do here. Eda whined again and she sighed.

“Alright, alright.” She mumbled, forcing herself off of the couch to follow the owl beast. “What do you want to show me?”

Eda immediately perked up when Nily got to her feet, chirping happily. She waited for the witch to reach her before moving on upstairs, looking back every once in a while to make sure she was still following. They ended up in Eda’s room, the owl beast jumping into her nest with a trill of delight. 

Nily just stood in the doorway, blinking slowly as she attempted to interpret what the owl beast wanted. After a bit, when it looked like Eda was content to just lay down in her nest, probably about to fall asleep, Nily tried to leave. 

“Goodnight then.”

But the moment she turned Eda whined again, jumping out of her nest. Ever so gently, she grasped the witches shirt in her mouth, trying to lead her back into the room and towards the nest. She grumbled but let it happen. Eda didn’t let go until they were right next to the nest, climbing back in and staring back at Nily.

“Oh.” Nily finally got what was going on. “No.”

Eda whined, giving her the biggest, saddest pair of puppy dog eyes the witch had ever seen, but it didn't phase her. She was not about to sleep in a pile of sticks. She didn’t know how Eda could do it, even in her witch form. It was simply something Nily was not going to budge on.

Eda seemed to realize that after a while of pouting. When Nily left again, she didn’t stop her. Eda thought very hard, staring at the empty doorway. 

Nily went back to the couch and fell asleep.

But Eda didn’t. She had a mission now. 

She didn’t make much noise as she moved through the house, trying to find as many blankets and pillows as possible. She had the feeling that there were some nearby. There was a stash somewhere in her home, she just had to find it. Maybe if the nest was softer than the nice two-legged creature would like it. She thought her nest was perfect already, but maybe she liked it differently? 

She figured she’d find her prize behind one of the doors. It took a bit to figure out how to open them without breaking something, but she managed it well enough. Once she figured that out it didn’t take long before she found the closet with all the blankets. She made a happy sound and dragged her haul back upstairs, getting to work.

\----------------------------

Nily suddenly jolted awake. Something had nudged her, she was sure of it. She glanced around and groaned.

“Eda, what is with you today?”

The owl beast blinked down at her before nudging her again, trying to get her off of the couch.

“No, stop.” She commanded, but Eda wasn’t listening. She nudged her harder, sending the witch tumbling off the couch.

Nily sat up and glared at the beast. Eda cooed at her and tried to help her up to her feet. She sighed.

“Alright, what is it now?” She gave in, following her back upstairs. She raised an eyebrow at the hallway when they passed it, wondering why exactly all the doors were open. What had Eda been up to?

It made a bit more sense when they reached Eda’s room again. The large nest was now lined with blankets. It looked like she had emptied the entire linen closet in her attempt to improve the nest. 

The beast didn’t go to her nest right away this time. She stood next to it, watching Nily intently and waiting for her to make a move. 

“You really want me to sleep in the nest, don’t you?”

Eda tilted her head it Nily’s voice, ears perking up. She let out the cutest little sound, looking at the nest, then back at the witch. She still hesitated. She really didn’t want to sleep on a bunch of sticks, regardless of how many blankets you put on top. But at the same time, something told her Eda wasn’t going to let up about this. She didn’t know why it was so important to her, but it was important nonetheless. 

She turned around to go back downstairs. Eda whined loudly, following close behind and trying to get her to turn around. She grabbed at her sleeves, tried to block her path, anything, but Nilly just chuckled and pushed her aside. 

She stopped in the living room, just grabbing her blanket and pillow. Nad turned right back around. Eda made a noise of approval, running off ahead of her. By the time she made it back to the nest she was already there, curled up and waiting. 

Nily wasn’t exactly the most graceful trying to get in, somehow managing to trip herself up, but she still got in. There wasn’t a lot of space with the owl beast already laying down herself. Nily had to mostly lay on the beasts side, but she didn’t seem to mind. She wasn’t snapping at her or anything. It was rather comfortable, actually. She had to shift to get a stick to stop poking her back, but it wasn’t that bad, and with the warm and softness of Eda’s feathers, it really didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.


End file.
